Over the past several years, a marked increase in the incidence of high grade B cell lymphoma in individuals at risk for AIDS has been noted (Ziegler, Kaplan).
There is some evidence that HTLV-I infection may play a role in B-cell lymphogenesis. It has been reported that the sera of a subgroup of patients with AIDS-associated lymphoma contained both anti-HIV antibodies and antibodies reactive with the envelope glycoproteins (gp45/61) of HTLV-I (Feigal). Mann and colleagues have shown that B-cells isolated from the primary lymphoma tissue obtained from two patients with HTLV-I infection made immunoglobulins which reacted specifically with HTLV-I viral antigens (Mann). Also, immortalized B-cell clones have spontaneously arisen from in vitro cultivation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with HTLV-associated adult T-cell lymphoma/leukemia (ATLL).
In view of the increasing incidence of AIDS-related human lymphoma, it would be valuable to identify the viral etiological agent. This would allow screening of blood supplies for the presence of the viral agent, lead to possible preclinical treatment of the disease, and allow development of vaccines or antibodies against the agent.